Biography

I am happy that you are using this web site and hope that you found it useful. Unfortunately, the cost of making this material freely available is increasing, so if you have found the site useful and would like to contribute towards its continuation, I would greatly appreciate it. Click the button to go to Paypal and make a donation.


Nassau William Senior (1790-1864)

Nassau Senior was born on 26 September 1790 at Compton Beauchamp, Berkshire. He was educated at Eton and Magdalen College, Oxford from where he graduated in 1812. In 1819 he was called to the Bar. He became one of the leading Classical economists of the period and was the first Drummond professor of political economy at Oxford, holding the post from 1825 to 1830 and then between 1847 and 1862. He had a great deal of influence in the political affairs of the mid-nineteenth century and made many contributions to economic theory.

In 1830, he published On the cost of Obtaining Money and in 1836 his An Outline of the Science of Political Economy appeared. In this book, he introduced the view that the saving and accumulation of capital must be considered a part of the cost of production. He worked on the concept of rent and led the revolt among the classical economists against the Malthusian theory of population. He also extended the theory of the distribution of precious metals and showed the importance of productivity for general price levels. In 1840 his book The Value of Money was published.

Senior was actively involved in the setting of economic policy. He served as adviser to the Whig party and in 1832 he became a Poor Law Commissioner. Together with Edwin Chadwick he produced the Poor Law Amendment Act of 1834. He stressed the importance of the last hour's work in the cotton factories, arguing that all the profits were made in that time. His ideas in this area were used to oppose the reduction of working hours in manufacturing industry. He was one of the commissioners on handloom weavers in 1841 and advised the government of Prime Minister, Lord Melbourne to oppose trade unions. Senior died on 4 June 1864 in London.


Meet the web creator

These materials may be freely used for non-commercial purposes in accordance with applicable statutory allowances and distribution to students.
Re-publication in any form is subject to written permission.

Last modified 12 January, 2016

The Age of George III Home Page

Ministerial Instability 1760-70

Lord North's Ministry 1770-82

American Affairs 1760-83

The period of peace 1783-92

The Age of the French Wars 1792-1815 Irish Affairs 1760-89

Peel Web Home Page

Tory Governments 1812-30

Political Organisations in the Age of Peel

Economic Affairs in the Age of Peel

Popular Movements in the Age of Peel

Irish Affairs
1789-1850
 
Primary sources index British Political Personalities British Foreign policy 1815-65 European history
index sitemap advanced
search engine by freefind